Wednesday, November 9, 2011

No matter how new your car may be, it is always a possibility to find yourself stranded with a dead battery. So, I would suggest doing two things. First, put a set of jumper cables in your car. Second, learn how to use those jumper cables.

I came across a simple article and instructional video on eHow that teaches exactly how to jump start your car. Enjoy!

Read your owner's manual, as it will describe any peculiarities involved in jump-starting your vehicle.

2

Pull a car with a charged battery next to the car with the dead battery, situating the two batteries as close together as you can without allowing the two cars to touch.

3

Turn off both engines, pull out the keys, put both cars in park, engage the emergency brakes and open the hoods.

4

Attach a red-handled/positive jumper cable clamp to the positive terminal (the one with the plus sign) of the charged battery.

5

Connect the other red-handled clamp to the positive terminal of the dead battery.

6

Attach the neighboring black/negative cable to the car with the dead battery. Clamp it somewhere where the current can ground out, such as a bolt or bracket on the engine. You can also attach it to any metal, unpainted part of the vehicle's frame.

7

Ground the other black/negative cable on the charging car, as described in the previous step. Be careful, as a small spark may be produced.

8

Attempt to start the car that has the dead battery.

9

Re-adjust the red/positive clamp on the dead car if there is no response; try re-clamping it to the terminal or turning it for a better connection. Keep trying to start the dead car.

10

Once the dead car is running, remove the clamps one at a time in reverse order.

11

Allow the jump-started car to run for half an hour in order to charge the battery. It will charge whether driving or idling.

Hope this was helpful. Be sure to equip your car with a set of cables!